Captain America in Cleveland

By Krista Liberatore, guest contributor

Over the past eight years, I’ve enjoyed discovering the benefits of working in downtown Cleveland.  Of course, there are the obvious benefits of having tons of lunch options in walking distance and plenty of things to do nearby after work.  But it’s the unexpected benefits that make working downtown especially fun.  Like getting a sneak peak of the air show from your office windows.  Or going to the St. Patrick’s Day parade on your lunch break.  Seeing Lake Erie every day.  Watching the elephants walk down East 9th every year, from the circus train to the Q.

And every once and a while, you can watch a major movie be filmed.

Last October, when my brother emailed me this trailer for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, I instantly recognized every frame that was filmed in Cleveland.  I may not know much about movies.  I may not know much about comics.  But what I do know about is: Cleveland.

In the trailer, I’ve identified the parts that were filmed in Cleveland.  It really didn’t take long.  If you know Cleveland, they’re obvious.  If you click on the street names, it should take you to the Google Maps street view so you can see for yourself!  I’ve also included some random fun facts and  other links.

0:58 – Euclid and East 9th facing West.  The beige-colored building in the left side of the frame is the really cool old Cleveland Trust Rotunda which is soon being renovated into a grocery store.  Less than a block ahead is my husband’s office.  Also, the building on the right with the clock that says 7:47 is the Huntington bank that I occasionally walk to for my banking needs during the work day.

0:59, 1:10, 1:43 – West Shoreway not too far from FirstEnergy Stadium.  They closed this street for two weeks to film this movie.  Traffic was a disaster for the people who lived on the near west side.  I normally have dinner with some friends in Lakewood once a week, but we cancelled these two weeks to avoid the traffic situation!

1:41 – East 6th and Rockwell facing South.  The building on the right is the library, and the building on the left is the Federal Reserve.

1:44-1:48 – Superior just east of Public Square. The red building that the explosion at 1:47 happens in front of is the BP Building which is the third tallest building in Cleveland.

1:58-2:00 – Lakeside between 3rd & Ontario.  I am 99% sure this is the right location, but you can see they CGIed in some extra buildings in the shots facing west.

BONUS NON-CLEVELAND MAP LINK!  Captain America: The Winter Soldier is actually set in Washington, DC, and my brother and sister-in-law currently live there.  My brother was able to pick out one of the few DC scenes in the trailer above…  2:03-2:05 – Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Bridge

Finally, below are a handful of pictures that I took during the weeks when Captain America was in town.  Click the images to view them larger.

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Krista Liberatore is an IT professional in the Cleveland area, specializing in application development and business analysis.  She enjoys yoga, craft beer, and indoor bird-watching.